I was in love with someone
who loved someone else the
way I loved them...
concept art for its 3D department,
then became lead trainer in the
concept art division. It was a
promotion, but it came with problems:
“As someone who was fresh out of
school and having to teach others, I felt
beyond unqualified.”
A good artist knows what colour to
use where. But that doesn’t necessarily
mean they can teach colour theory in
terms that are simple and precise.
Timothy found this out the hard way.
He would have to study a given subject
- sometimes for weeks – before putting
together a tutorial.
Despite his formal education,
Timothy says he learned “pretty much
everything” from online resources and
experimentation. A degree is good. But
a strong portfolio is far more important
when it comes to finding work. This
was the idea around which Timothy
would built tutorials. It worked. His
courses attracted thousands of paying
enrollees, but making those tutorials
also forced him to be a better artist.
Timothy recreated the atmosphere of
art school when he moved into a house
in Wisconsin with five artist friends. It
sounds like the setup for a sitcom
about millennials. The house had a
party room. It wasn’t uncommon tosee somebody making sushi at
midnight. There were competitions to
see who could come up with the most
over-the-top outfit to wear to the local
roller rink. The house was “functional-
dysfunctional,” the artist says.
Timothy also saw the other side to
life as a millennial, the realities of
trying to make a living in creativeLUNAR MERMAID
“A piece blending
Mucha’s influence and
my love for the nautical
terrors. This one finds
herself basking under
the quiet moonlight.”YOUNG SUMMONER
“This is an apprentice who’s pleased with his own
ability to summon familiars, even if they do turn out
to be a bit... underwhelming.”industries that increasingly can’t or
won’t support young people trying to
learn their trade. This was a time when
it was becoming more common to hear
terms like “be your own brand”, “side
hustle” and “monetise.” It wasn’t
enough for his housemates to make
great work. They had to fight to get that
work noticed. It became just as
important to be “extremely proactive”
and “put yourself out there.”
Even Timothy had setbacks. In
2016, he entered an art competition.
There would be 30 winners. Timothy, a
graduate, an art teacher, an artist with
a very respectable online following,
was confident he’d be one of them. He
wasn’t. And the experience was
humbling. The house also became
more dysfunctional than functional:
“I was in love with someone who loved
someone else the way I loved them –
and I had to live with both of them.”GOING IT ALONE
Timothy knew freelancing would be
tough, but, in 2017, he decided to leave
his full-time job at CG Cookie and go
it alone. It meant giving up good,
regular pay, benefits, and leaving
behind people he liked working with.
It was, frankly, terrifying.
The first three months were the
roughest. Worrying about money was
at times “overwhelming.” He began to